Unfortunately a lot of people don't have that luxury (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory). Of course man

Unfortunately a lot of people don't have that luxury (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory). Of course manufacturers often trade quality in favor of margins, but I wonder how much the decline in consumer products has to do with the proportion of people on the 'poor' end of "Boots Theory" for goods like refrigerators, blenders, dishwashers, etc. With income in the US practically stagnant for going on half a century and the sheer number of categories of "required" goods going up (e.g. phones, computers, TVs), everyone has a whole lot less to spend on a fridge and making a quality unit most people can't afford isn't a way to do business.